Tombstones of 777 unidentified victims of the Johnstown Flood at Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania

The National Park Service’s Johnstown Flood National Memorial only preserves the South Fork Dam ruins and the clubhouse and cottages of the former South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. While the flood started here, it ended 14 miles downriver at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. For those who want to take in more of the flood experience, there are other non-National Park sites that you can visit.

Johnstown Flood Museum

I did not visit this museum, but according to a park Ranger, it focuses more on the aftermath of the flood and has many flood artifacts. You can also see the film The Johnstown Flood, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary.

www.jaha.org/attractions/johnstown-flood-museum

Grandview Cemetery

This is where many of the Johnstown Flood victims are buried, including all 777 of those who were never identified. The graves are very close to the entrance—take a right and they near the first corner you come to. There is an office where you can get more information if you can’t find what you are looking for. As for identified individuals who died in the flood, there is no exclusive section in the cemetery where they are all buried, so it is a hit-or-miss search for such graves. I never found any near the unidentified graves. Make a note that this cemetery is HUGE.

The Grandview Cemetery is open starting at 7:30 AM and closes at 5 PM from November through March, and at sunset the rest of the year.

grandviewjohnstownpa.com

Memorial to the unidentified Johnstown Flood victims stands in front of their tombstone at Grandview Cemetery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Path of the Flood Trail

A 14-mile trail takes hikers and bikers along the path of the flood waters from the South Fork Dam to the Johnstown Flood Museum. The trail begins 300 yards from the breach in the South Fork Dam and runs to the town of Franklin via the Staple Bend Tunnel (part of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site). Keep in mind that some of the trail follows city streets.

According to a park Ranger, other than walking along the general path of the flood, the trail is mainly for exercise. However, there are some wayside exhibits on the route that help tell the story of the disaster.

You can pick up a trail brochure at The Johnstown Flood Museum and at the Visitor Center for Johnstown Flood National Memorial. Information is also available on the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority website.

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